The increasingly popular PlayStation Plus service on the PSN could evolve into a tiered system offering different membership levels on the upcoming PS4.

With the launch of the PS4 comes news that the PS4 PlayStation Plus service could become a multi-tiered membership system, offering access to different content depending on the level of subscription.

According to Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida, the Gaikai streaming service technology could allow Sony to filter consumers’ content access through different subscription options.

“We could have gold, silver or platinum levels of membership, something like that,” said Yoshida. “We can do subscription services when we have more content – especially now that we have the Gaikai technology available. With one subscription you have access to thousands of games – that’s our dream.”

Currently the PS3 PlayStation Plus membership can be purchased in 90 days spurts for £11.99 or users can opt for the annual option of £39.99. This gives gamers a dual PS3 and PlayStation Vita subscription offering access to the PSN Instant Games collection, exclusive access to new demos and beta trials, discounts on games and DLC, online storage for game saves and automatic software updates for both consoles.

“As more and more services and contents become available digitally, we’ll have more of an option to create attractive packages. So hypothetically we can look at different models – like a cable TV company,” explained Yoshida.

The PS4 was unveiled at a dedicated Sony launch event last week, but fans are still in the dark as to what the console will actually look like. With a PS4 release date set for “holidays 2013”, we should see the next-gen console by Christmas. Factoring this in, come E3 2013 Sony could be demoing some PS4 games live and give more details on the future of PlayStation Plus and Gaikai.

Do you think that introducing a tiered membership system would be a good idea? If you have subscribed to the PlayStation Plus service, what do you think of the benefits on offer? Let us know via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter pages or the comment boxes below.